After getting Enrique some needed medical attention, the group called in Stinky Joe to assist with covering their tracks. Joe used shapeshifting and glamours to make it appear that the group died in a car accident. On his way back to the group, Joe was pressed into carrying a message to Enrique, informing him that his help was needed by his fellow Knight of the Cross, Sanya. He set the remainder of the group up with a contact in Baltimore.

The next morning, following the Red Court annihilation, Nicholas got a call from Officer Fintan. Officer Fintan told Nicholas that there was a federal task force gearing up to arrest him and his friends. While on the phone he asked Nicholas if he knew anything about multiple grave sites being disturbed around the area.

The group immediately mobilized and fled to the Never Never. They promptly discovered the cause of the grave disturbances. Dabumun was waiting for them with hundreds of zombies. They retreated back to the normal world and took off to find another spot to enter the Never Never. They slipped back through a portal, and, under cloak, proceeded on their journey. After a short tussle with a few zombies, they eventually came out in the Outback. A few more hops and they found themselves traveling through Winter Court territory. They ended up having to fight their way out, slaying two trolls and several hobs in the process. Eventually they came through at Klaus’s house in Belgium.

After a short rest and bringing Klaus up to speed they left for Benny’s hideout in the Agean, leaving Zeke behind to recuperate.

After spending the night in rest and recuperation, Nicholas and Enrique left to seek assistance. As they were driving they were accosted by a group of the Jaguar Knights. Thinking quickly, Enrique called The Hammer asking for assistance. After a tense standoff, the Hammer rode up on his bike, dismounted and told the Knights that they had best see to their own as the barrio was now on fire. The Knights quickly left to see to their loved ones and the Hammer told Nick and Enrique that they owed him even more now, but he’d collect much later, assuming they lived, as he was leaving town shortly.

The entire team got together to discuss their plan. After a short while they came up with an inspired plan of mayhem. They stole a fire engine from the barrio fire, ensured the tank was filled and then blessed. They caught up with the Hammer before he left, where they managed to get a some heavier firepower and Nick picked up Nannupuq to assist with the battle.

For the assault on Duke Gaspar’s compound, Nick took up an overwatch position, Benny prepared to augment the attack with magic, Trick was in the driver’s seat of the fire engine and Enrique prepared to blow the gate with an RPG.

The attack went off without a hitch. After exploding the fire engine inside Gaspar’s mansion and massively decimating his guard force the group retired to Benny’s.

While they were celebrating they heard the telltale sound of a beating heart, the signature of the Jaguar demon. In a final battle against the demon and the Eebs, Enrique lost his arm, but the Red Court forces were ultimately defeated.

While discussing the previous evening’s diplomatic apocalypse, the group was interrupted by the sound of rolling thunder. Nick stepped away to listen in to what was happening on his police scanner, where he heard of an explosion in St. Paul.

The group immediately headed out to investigate. Upon arrival, they found that Olav‘s house and the surrounding five houses had been destroyed in a massive explosion. Benny presented himself to the police as Olav’s next of kin. As Benny was talking to the police, Olav was pulled from the wreckage, grievously injured.

The quickly followed Olav’s ambulance, arriving just as they were pulling up to the hospital. Benny was able to convince the administration to put Olav in an isolated area through the application of large amounts of money.

As Benny was making arrangements, Nick received an panicked phone call from Zeke indicating that the mansion was under attack.

The group tore off towards the mansion, only to have the car fail en route. Thinking quickly, Benny opened a portal to the Nevernever. After a jaunt through floating rocks, the Arctic and a dank cave, they came out a half mile from the mansion.

As they came up to the mansion, they saw Eva Fediraya engaged in fighting a massive jaguar demon, while Red Court vampires were taking shots at the mansion itself. After a short battle they managed to run the vampires off.

The day began with Benny reading in the paper that the American Swedish Institute had burned the previous evening. While he was getting ready to go investigate, Eva received a call from Hernando letting her know that the entire St. Giles cell had been wiped out that night.

Benny and Nick investigated the attack on the ASI and found the place gutted. They went to Professor Tomasson‘s house and found him there, gravely wounded. A quick conversation with his wife led them to calling Dr. Alhazred to stabilize the professor. After the doctor’s tender ministrations, the professor was evacuated by a team from the Venatorum Umbrorum.

Benny reached out to his contacts and found out that the Red Court was preparing the way for a major ritual. Apparently, one of the Lords of Outer Night, Tezcatlipoca was coming to town.

The group arranged a meeting with Duke Gaspar at the Pig’s Eye. To describe the meeting as disastrous would be putting it mildly. Benny insulted the Duke and it fell to Enrique to act as peacemaker. Enrique’s efforts were unsuccessful.

The group, after considering Connall’s demands, agreed to return the Gae Bolg to him in exchange for certain concessions. Nicholas drew up the following document:

In exchange for safely returning the Gae Bolg:
1. Bill will be returned alive and unharmed.
2. Connall, his friends, allies and any potential contracting intermediaries cannot harass, kidnap, harm, torture or kill the undersigned, their families, hangers on and non-supernatural business associates now and in perpetuity. This agreement is voided in regards to those previously mentions as protected if they attack Connall.

The previous night’s soiree had left the grounds of Benny’s place in a bit of a disarray. After making their way past unconscious nymphs and wrestling uber ghouls, Enrique and Nicholas left to pick up Enrique’s friend Trick who was being released on probation. While they were gone, Ezekial arrived, ready to move in. Benny, despairing at the egregios fashion disaster that was Zeke’s wardrobe, immediately took Zeke to Benny’s tailor.

Trick was picked up without incident, and following a stern lecture on the sanctity of other people’s property, was brought back to the mansion. Benny and Zeke returned and got Zeke settled in.

While the group was getting to know each other a telegram arrived for Bill Jones, Benny’s manservant. The telegram read:

Bill, we’re on our way. We’ll get in this evening. We hope Benny is going to be alright.

A quick investigation found that the phone lines were down to the mansion. Once they were repaired, Benny called his brother to find out what was going on. His brother had heard nothing from their parents. Enrique, Nicholas, Bill and Trick left to pick up the parents at the airport. Nicholas chose to wait with the car to prevent tampering while the remaining three went to the charter terminal.

After about an hour’s wait at the terminal, Bill left with one of the gate agents. No sooner than he got out of sight, the remaining people in the terminal attacked Enrique and Trick. Two businessmen morphed into hulking stone creatures, a b-list celebrity turned into a venom-dripping snake woman, and the remaining gate agent turned into a demonic child.

A brutal fight ensued. Trick managed to avoid getting hurt but Enrique was poisoned and badly injured when, Nicholas arrived to provide salvation. Eventually they slayed the demon child and one of the stone creatures, but the others fled the scene. During the altercation, Nicholas was also poisoned.

Nicholas called Benny, who promptly gathered up Eva Fediraya and used the Nevernever to travel to the airport. Benny’s arrive brought down the baggage claim system. By the time Benny arrived at the terminal, Enrique had passed out from his wounds.

Benny called in Dr. Alhazred to assist. The price of which ended up being $50,000, Benny’s silk tie, and one favor to be claimed later that would not violate any of the laws of magic.

While the doctor worked, Eva and Benny tried to find what happened to Bill. Eventually they discovered a wrecked office with traces of Bill’s blood. Further investigation led them to an area where a portal had been opened to the Nevernever. Benny’s check of the portal showed that it lead to the lands of Winter.

Shortly after Benny and Eva returned to the terminal, Benny’s parents arrived. Everyone quickly retreated to the mansion to consider a further course of action. When they arrived, they found a note from Connall stating that he would return Bill alive and unharmed in exchange for the Gae Bolg, Enrique, Nicholas or Benny.

Connall returned again later that evening, asking for their answer. They requested a day to consider their response.

The day started off with Enrique’s stitches sliding out of his stomach and, inch-worm like, crawling from the house in search of their master.

Still early that morning, Nicholas, Benny and Enrique were all hit with unnaturally bad luck. Benny was able to deduce that each of them had been subject to an entropy curse. Once they met together and discussed the situation they discovered that all three were missing a small personal item. A short thaumaturgy ritual later and they were on the trail of their missing possessions.

The spell led them to a house in a development in suburbia. A rather awkward conversation with the woman who was home ended with her calling the police. The group beat a hasty retreat to the car and Benny put a veil around the vehicle. They waited and observed the area to see if they could find any further clues.

Later in the afternoon, a schoolbus arrived and a young, geeky-looking, teenager went into the house. Less than a half an hour passed before another entropy curse hit. They had found their assailant.

As they were leaving to construct a plan, they were attacked by a group of fetches. A short fight led to them fleeing the scene.

Back at Benny’s mansion they came up with a course of action. They agreed to send Stinky Joe into the house to persuade the warlock to talk with them. Stinky Joe morphed himself into a fedex package and was delivered to the house, neatly circumventing the threshold. Once inside, Joe held a knife on the warlock and told him to call Benny. After a discussion, the warlock, who was named Ezekiel Green, agreed to meet them at the library.

When Ezekial arrived at the library he was wearing a backpack with Stinky Joe inside, the knife pressed against Ezekial’s spine. The conversation quickly proved that Ezekial was an unwitting dupe of Connall. Benny decided to take Ezekial on as an apprentice to prevent further issues of this type.

It turned out that Benny’s father owned the company that Ezekial’s father worked for. Benny arranged to have Ezekial’s father promoted and transferred out of the area and setup a pseudo scholarship whereby Ezekial would go to “private school” there in the twin cities.

When they returned to Benny’s mansion, Benny sent a message to Cu, asking him to come by provide information and training in the use of the Gae Bolg. Cu’s arrivel precipitated a rather raucous night of debauchery.

Nicholas was called into Lieutenant Martinez’s office to explain his actions the previous evening. When Nicholas couldn’t offer a reasonable explanation, he was promptly suspended and told to expect a full review.

The group gathered at Enrique’s house to discuss their options. While they were debating a delivery arrived, Cu had sent a scrap of Connall’s clothing that came off in their battle. Benny promptly began a thaumaturgy ritual to locate Connall and was disturbed to discover that he was a mere two hundred yards away.

The group set out to locate Connall under the cloak of one of Benny’s veils. They eventually found him perched in a tree in the backyard of a Neighbor’s house. They immediately attacked Connall and an epic battle ensued. After earthquakes, exploding fences, localized tornadoes, a hail of bullets, a protracted melee battle, Enrique suffering a massive abdominal wound and a last minute save by Stinky Joe, Connall fled, dropping the Gae Bolg.

Nicholas gathered up the Gae Bolg, and the team returned to Enrique’s house. Once they got there, Benny reached out to Dr. Abdul Alhazred to assist with Enrique’s injuries.

Dr. Alhazred proved to be more than a little disturbing in his methods, but, in exchange for a vial of blood from each of the three heroes, he agreed put Enrique on the road to recovery. The doctor left Enrique with a repaired abdomen, but some rather odd side effects(glowing eyes, things moving inside him, a distorted sense of reality).

Nicholas McCoy had been working on the Minneapolis Mutliator case. The three victims were Siobhan Kazuba, a 45-year-old occult bookstore owner; Lucy McKenzie, a 16-year-old high school student and Tanis Potvin, a 22-year-old college student. Nicholas took Benny in to the coroner’s office to look over the bodies that had been recovered. A minor crisis with Lieutenant Martinez was averted by some deft fast-talking that left the impression on the Lieutenant that Benny was Siobhan’s next of kin.

After viewing their remains, Benny was able to determine that all three victims were changelings. Siobhan was a sylph, Lucy a sidhe and Tanis an elf. The wounds on the bodies were quite strange. In each case there was a large wound in the back, with the viscera torn from the body. The removed organs were found at the scenes, mutilated and splattered on the ground next to bodies.

Nicholas and Benny went to the University to question Tanis’ roommate. After some discussion about increased grades due to roommate death, it eventually came out that Tanis was associated with Stinky Joe.

Enrique returned home to question Stinky Joe while Nicholas and Benny were pursuing their investigation. Enrique told Joe about the slain changelings and pressed him for the name of his pursuers. Joe refused to divulge the information but told Enrique to warn Benny that, “the fae have more knights than just summer and winter and not all of them are nice.”

Nicholas, Benny and Enrique met at the Pig’s Eye to question Pete as to the location of Stinky Joe. Pete informed them that an Irish gentleman had been asking about Joe the last few days, typically arriving sometime in the late afternoon/early evening. While they were talking Cu Fhearnóg entered the bar, Pete indicated to the group that he was the one they were talking about.

The trio engaged Cu in conversation, and it quickly came out that Joe had stolen a mead horn from Cu’s boss, the Erlking. Cu revealed that he was the Knight of the Hunt, the Erlking’s mortal champion. Cu mentioned that he was good friends with Joe prior to the theft and had been pursuing Joe for a number of years since. When Benny questioned Cu about the murders Cu indicated he had no knowledge, but once he heard the state of the corpses, he identified the culprit as Connall. Connall, a known friend of Joe, was a half-fetch sociopath from ancient Ireland and the current bearer of the Gae Bolg. Cu had spoken with all three of the victims and all three had wounds like those known to have been inflicted by the spear.

Nicholas, Benny and Enrique discussed options for getting a hold of Joe. They decided to take Cu to Benny’s and perform a summoning ritual, but Enrique was insistent that they stop at his house first. As they were entering the house, Cu dashed ahead, obviously getting Joe’s scent. The trio caught up with Cu as he was apprehending a plush bear from Enrique’s bed. After some gentle persuasion, the bear reverted to Joe’s typical corpulent form.

Under questioning, Joe revealed that he thought Cu had slain the changelings but ultimately wasn’t surprised to find out Connall was eliminating those who had spoken with Cu. Joe said that he was more than a little afraid of Connall and what he might do, and that it is entirely possible that Connall could turn on Joe himself. Ultimately it was revealed that the mead horn was hidden in Benny’s guest house where Eva was staying. Joe figured no one would look in a wizard’s guest house, especially one that had an uber ghoul resident.

As the team was leaving Enrique’s to recover the horn, they narrowly averted being skewered by the Gae Bolg. Connall had obviously been watching the house. Cu took off in pursuit. Nicholas received reports on his police radio of the two fighting their way across the city. In an attempt to help Cu, Nicholas called in that Connall was the Minneapolis Mutilator and Cu was a concerned citizen trying to help. This brought the full force of the twin cities law enforcement to bear. Unfortunately they were no match for a viciously psychopathic half fetch who butchered 15 officers during the fray. Eventually Cu and Connall broke off their fight and evaded the authorities. Cu returned to Enrique’s battered and wounded, but sure that Connall had gone to ground as well, giving them at least some reprieve.

After nearly 24 hours of thaumaturgical work, the wards were brought down with a resounding gong. Benny quickly opened a passage through the wall to the urn chamber. The urn was on a raised pedestal in the center of a 30-foot diameter circular room. The floor was covered by the fossilized bodies of nephilim locked in mortal combat. As Benny and Enrique stepped into the room they saw Elizabeth and Giles entering as well from the dig entrance. As the team exchanged words with the Denarians, Nicodemus arrived in the Pig’s Eye. This prompted Elizabeth and Giles to immediately take the offensive.

Elizabeth was immediately covered with scales and sprouted long fangs dripping green ichor. Simultaneously Giles lashed out mentally at Enrique, savaging him a brutal mental assault of fear and pain. With Nicholas shooting at Giles, Enrique crossed the room to engage the Denarian, while Benny intercepted Elizabeth. A short brutal fight followed, which eventually left Giles dead from Fidelachius. Elizabeth promptly fled the scene.

Nicodemus and Enrique faced off and eventually reached a compromise where Nicodemus would leave the country but he would take Giles’ coin with him.

After Nicodemus departed, the Hammer arrived dragging Elizabeth’s body behind him. After tossing her corpse into the room, the Hammer informed Benny that all debts were now settled between them.

In the aftermath the group secured the urn in a new resting place under the floor of the Pig’s Eye.

The team travelled through the Nevernever to Klaus’ home in Belgium where he put together a patch for the urn.

After further discussion with Klaus, the team decided to take three actions.

Benny would approach Chief Ragnavaldr and bargain with him to secure a freehold lord nomination for the Hammer, which Benny would then use to convince the Hammer not to support the Denarians.

Enrique would ask Father Tatenda to use his contacts within the church to alert Nicodemus that his fellow Denarians are taking actions against Nicodemus’ interests.

Benny would use thaumaturgy to take the Urn from its resting place and they would hide the urn in the Pig’s Eye.

Upon their return to the Twin cities, they immediately began executing their plan. Benny and Nicholas went to visit the Chief. When they arrived they had a frigid wait until Ragnavaldr returned home. When he did arrive it was with a hunting party in tow and with a fresh kill bound hand and foot to a pole. The Chief agreed to Benny’s plan with the following provisos:

The Hammer is required to support the Chief in his efforts against Summer for the space of five summers.

Benny owes the Chief a debt not to exceed the equivalent of 30 days of service.
Upon their departure Benny and Nicholas were each given an Eternal Snowflake that marks them under the protection of the Chief in the lands of Winter.

Meanwhile Enrique had an awkward conversation with Father Tatenda. The Father was greatly disturbed by Enrique’s request but eventually agreed to pass along the message to Nicodemus.

Following their meeting with the Chief, Benny and Nicholas went to meet with the Hammer and provide their offer. Nicholas had to work hard to stifle his policeman’s instincts during the meeting but in the end it was a successful negotiation. Benny and Nicholas discovered that there is an unnamed third party who has already signed for the Hammer, now with Benny and Ragnavaldr’s signatures, the Hammer is a freeholding lord.

That evening the team regrouped at the Pig’s Eye to begin their preparation. In the course of preparing to use thaumaturgy to penetrate the wall of the Pig’s Eye to the room of the Urn, Benny discovered that there were wards in place blocking his way. Thus began a marathon disenchanting session.

That morning Nicholas thoroughly checked up on the dig permits and regulations, and to his chagrin found that everything was perfectly in order.

The team went to the university to view the artifacts. They had a rather long meeting with Dr. Rutlidge where he showed them some of the bones. Oddly enough everything about the bone structure indicated that the bones were those of adolescents, albeit adolescents that were six feet tall. After further questioning the professor admitted that he had been concealing some of the find as it was too fantastic to be believed. He revealed more bones that in structure appeared to be adult but belonged to individuals over nine feet in height. Benny felt nothing on touching the bones but both Nicholas and Enrique were overcome with a sense of peace.

The trio left the university to return to the dig site to meet with Giles Brennus. On arriving at the dig, there was a limousine in front with large private security types standing around menacingly. As the group approached the dig, they were greeted by a rather well dressed older woman who appeared to be some form of administrative assistant. She introduced herself as Elizabeth Baxter and indicated a familiarity with Benny’s family. When Benny shook her hand he received a powerful shock. She was obviously something significantly more than human. After a short friendly chat where she blatantly ignored Enrique the group headed down to the dig.

On their way down, they encountered Giles Brennus and two of his security guards. Benny again received a shock while shaking Giles’ hand. A verbal fencing match ensued where Giles indicated an obvious knowledge of Benny’s true nature, while Benny let slip he thought Giles might be a dragon. Giles assured the trio that he would be stopping a good ten feet short of the Pig’s Eye and thus would not be violating the Accorded Neutral Ground. He also rather pointedly noted that while Benny was protected by the Accords, the same could not be said for Enrique and Nicholas.

After leaving the dig site the team immediately returned to the Pig’s Eye to talk to Pierre. In an edging towards panic state, Pierre finally told the them the truth. He wasn’t worried in the least about the Pig’s Eye. Instead he was worried about Giles and Elizabeth getting to the Urn. He explained that Giles and Elizabeth were both Denarians, and before accepting their coins were known as Giles de Rais and Elizabeth Bathory .

Pierre then explained his true nature. He started with an explanation of the Fallen. He told the team of the three groups of Fallen. The first, and most powerful, were those that rebelled and joined the side of the Morningstar. The second were those lead by Semjaza who took mortal brides and fathered the Nephilim, and were nearly of a strength with the first group. The third, and least powerful of the Fallen were those angels who were set to watch over the tribes of man and refused to return to heaven when they were told their duties were done at the crucifixtion. This third group is known as the Denarians.

Pierre quoted from the Book of Enoch:

And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it…

He then told the group that the urn contained 19 of the 20 fallen who were fathers to the Nephilim and managed to avoid being cast into the Pit. The missing 20th escaped the urn through the crack in its side following the Deluge. He had repented his sins and resolved to walk a better path. He found Pierre and made him Rephaim and set Pierre to watch over the urn.

As the team continued to question Pierre, the missing Fallen entered the bar. He introduced himself as Josh, and promised to answer as many of their questions as he could. The trio learned four things:

Josh refused to use his power any longer on the mortal plane as he was afraid it would interfere with free will.

To fully repair the urn it would require power equal to or greater than that of a Faerie Queen.

If the urn was moved without the crack being repaired at least some of the Fallen would escape.

Pierre is limited in how far he can be from the urn. If, for example, the urn was cast into the Marianas Trench, Pierre would have to go with it and thus would die.

Following meeting Josh, the group left the Pig’s Eye. Enrique went to Father Tatenda to get his take on the situation, Nicholas went for a faith-guided walk and Benny went home to do some research. Father Tatenda promised to contact the Vatican and find out what he could. Nicholas discovered that the Marauders were providing security for the site. Unfortunately Benny’s reasearch didn’t turn up any new information.

Later that night, the trio regrouped to meet with Chief Ragnvaldr. The Chief was able to give them some advice on the Accords but all-in-all was not much help.

On their return to Benny’s mansion, Benny decided to contact his mentor, Klaus the Toymaker. Klaus indicated that he could provide a temporary patching compound if Benny could get a sample of similar pottery.

Benny immediately returned to the university and stole some pottery fragments from the uncataloged samples.

Pierre appeared at the gates of Benny‘s mansion early in the morning in an agitated state. After Benny was roused from bed, Pierre asked if Benny had read the Sunday paper and whether the he noticed the article about the archeological dig in the caves under Minneapolis. Benny acknowledged he had and Pierre said that the dig was getting very close to the Pig’s Eye. Pierre asked Benny to repay Benny’s debt to him by helping shoo away the archeologists.

Benny said he’d look into it and got in touch with Nicholas and Enrique. He then made some calls arranging a meeting with the professor under the guise of being interested in making an endowment. The trio was able to get an appointment at the dig site later that morning.

They arrived on site and met an eager Dr. Rutlidge. The doctor took them through the caves down to a silt-filled chamber that housed the dig. All throughout the meeting the doctor gushed profusely about the artifacts they had been finding. There were a few odd facts brought up. 1) Many of the bones had trauma marks indicating they had been hit by long bladed weapons—-longer, in fact, than flint weapons. 2) The oddly angularly decorated pottery was obviously fired clay, and was 60,000 years older than the earliest previously known example. 3) While the professor and grad students seemed perfectly at ease, Enrique, Nicholas and Benny were quite uneasy and wanted to leave the room.

All these oddities prompted Benny to view the room through his Sight. He opened his third eye and saw a largish chamber with a glowing cracked urn on a raised dais in the center. The urn pulsed with light and within Benny thought he could see white glowing shapes moving and trying to get out. Benny further felt himself drawn to the urn, as if he was being sucked in. While he watched massive shadowy figures appeared and seemed to engage in battle with each other around the urn. It was at this time that Benny chose to close his third eye.

On their way out through the tunnels, the trio questioned Dr. Rutlidge as to his funding source. It turned out the dig is solely funded by Giles Brennus, a European venture capitalist with a strong interest in history. The trio in turn made an appointment for the following afternoon to visit Dr. Rutlidge at the university and see some of the artifacts that he had turned up.

Following the visit the group returned to the Pig’s Eye to assure Pierre they were on the case and to arrange an Aquavit delivery for Olav to forestall an early arrival of Ragnarok.

11 Days until Samhain

Benny‘s ritual allowed him to see through the eyes of the wounded ghoul. In the course of riding the ghoul’s mind, he discovered that Dabumun, the leader of the ghoul clan, was no ordinary uber ghoul. He appeared to be a mortal spellcaster trapped in an uber ghoul body. Benny further discovered that the missing homeless were still alive and imprisoned in the ghoul cave.

Following the ritual and an extended war council the group went to the Pig’s Eye to meet with Olav the Old to see if he had any idea who Dabumun truly was. After plying Olav with alcohol, Olav recalled a wizard who was old when Olav was young and was obsessed with escaping death. The wizard went by the name of Dabumun and had an obsession with ancient Sumeria.

Eva agreed to help them fight Dabumun, and further suggested that they take the fight to him. She offered her services as well as those of her St. Giles cell. The team agreed to meet with her later that evening for the assault.

The group came up with a plan to have Stinky Joe cast a glamour to make it appear the trio was downtown in order to draw the bulk of the clan out of the caverns. After some cutthroat negotiations, Stinky Joe agreed to help, with Nicholas and Benny owing Stinky Joe two favors, and Enrique owing him one.

Eva and a team of 5 red court infected met the group at the entrance to the caves. Stinky Joe’s part of the plan went off without a hitch. Once inside, Eva blew the door blocking access to the main cavern, drawing six ghouls down on them. A short fight ensued and only one of the ghouls escaped with his life.

They pursued the ghoul to the caves, discovering the prisoners in the process. While evacuating the captives, the ghoul and Dabumun entered the area. Dabumun let loose a powerful magical attack, felling the prisoners, the wounded ghoul and instilling a deep sense of fear in Benny and the members of the St. Giles cell. The team promptly engaged Dabumun, inflicting massive damage on him. Before he could be killed Dabumun cast a final spell transferring his consciousness with Eva’s. He then, in Eva’s body, lunged at her, now in the uber ghoul’s body and drained her life, causing himself to undergo the transformation to full Red Court status. He then fled the scene.

The team spirited the prisoners out of the caves and safely into police custody.

12 Days until Samhain

The trio departed Benny’s mansion through the Nevernever. As they were leaving the grounds, they were again accosted by ghouls—This time wielding shotguns. A short, brutal fight left two ghouls dead and one badly wounded fleeing the scene. Benny collected blood left behind by the wounded ghoul.

They then traveled through the Nevernever to downtown St. Paul, where they met Stinky Joe. Stinky Joe had setup a network of pixies to watch over the area and look for ghoul activity. After only a short wait they were alerted to a nearby pack of ghouls laying in ambush.

Prior to intercepting the ghouls, Nicholas called the police to alert them of the upcoming fracas. The fight was short and bloody. At the end, all four ghouls lay dead. Benny called up a veil to hide Enrique and himself and they slipped away prior to the arrival of the authorities. Nicholas rejoined them on their way back to the alley where Stinky Joe was hiding.

As they waited in the alley for new word of the ghouls, a pixie hurtled in warning them that the entire clan was converging on them. The three left the alley and saw a large number of pedestrians heading their way from both directions. They hailed a cab and quickly fled.

When they pulled up to Benny’s mansion they saw flashing lights. It turned out that a team of ghouls had decided to assault the place during the team’s absence. Bill Jones had called the police to run them off. The police promised protection overnight.

After the trio went inside Benny began a ritual to see through the eyes of the ghoul whose blood he had collected.

13 Days until Samhain

The next morning, Enrique was awakened by a worried call from his mother. A pair of men were following her around the grocery store. Enrique called Benny and Nicholas and immediately ran to the store. When he got there he asked some of the local vatos he knew back in the day to take his mom home.

During a tension-filled but ultimately uneventful face-off with the two ghouls Nicholas arrived. While Nicholas watched the ghouls, Enrique returned home to check on his mother. He called the church requesting sanctuary for his family, and sent them off with the priest who was dispatched to help. While loading his family into the priest’s car, he noticed a new hispanic gang member taking a keen interest in the proceedings. A short conversation revealed the gangster was actually a ghoul.

14 Days until Samhain

In the early morning, under the Stone Arch Bridge, Benny opened a portal to the Nevernever leading to the winter realm of Faerie. An unnatural stillness pervaded the walk to Chief Ragnavaldr’s home. Once there, the Chief indicated that so far as he knew of no group currently gearing up for a confrontation, and he thought the ghouls were in the area for their own purposes. Further discussion brought up the possibility of an ascension ritual.

During the return trip to the portal, the team was accosted by a pack of malks. The pack backed off when Nicolas started praying.

Once back in the mortal realm, Benny did some research on ascension rituals, discovering that there are various types. The team decided to contact Mikkel Tomasson to see if he had any information on what in the area would be conducive to conducting such a ritual. On the way there Nicholas received a phone call informing him that two more missing people had been reported.

The visit with Mikkel was very productive. He informed the team that there was a legend that a minor Sumerian deity, named Ipda Xul and the Eater of the Dead, was defeated and caged under what is now known as the smallest park sometime during the pre-Columbian era. Mikkel believed that all the killings and abductions were to get enough human flesh to provide a housing for the soul of Ipda Xul that could then be consumed. Mikkel recommended the team emulate his actions and leave town.

The team went to find Olav to see if he had any information on the rogue deity. After plying Olav with drinks at the Pig’s Eye, Olav let slip that in fact he did know of the godling, and had “stuffed it back in its hole” back in the 1920’s when it was raised by a warlock. He mentioned that he had some help from the “Hillbilly” and the Merlin in reinforcing the wards keeping it imprisoned. Unfortunately, while Ipda Xul cannot escape on it’s own power, the cage is rather fragile from the outside.

The group decided to, in the short term, concentrate on stopping the ghouls abductions in an effort to prevent the ritual. They bribed Stinky Joe with cigars, rotgut and donuts to keep watch for any ghoul activity. That evening, they were able to ambush and wipe out a pair of ghouls with little effort and no injuries.

15 days until Samhain

The team regrouped the next day following their meeting with Habgu. Benny Martin called Edinburgh to let them know the situation and was wished good luck in his forthcoming efforts to deal with it. Nicholas and Enrique both used their respective avenues of investigation to see if they could find out if there has been any uptick in arms dealing indicating that someone was gearing up to a major confrontation. The theory being that perhaps the Lukinnatum Clan have been employed as a part of a larger force. Everything has been quiet, however, so the team decided to turn to other means of investigation.

Benny summoned his fae contact, Stinky Joe. Stinky Joe agreed to find the ghouls’ home base in exchange for two cartons of Kools. In short order he discovered their location in the caves under St. Paul. He was further able to tell the team that the ghouls had at least one uber ghoul and they were watching “the location”.

That evening the team left to meet with Chief Ragnvaldr to see if they could gather any further information.

16 Days until Samhain

The team met with Duke Gaspar in a private room at the Pig’s Eye. The meeting went very smoothly. His grace indicated in the strongest possible terms that his compatriots were not responsible for the disappearances and encouraged the trio to continue their investigation.

While walking through the park after leaving the tavern the investigators were startled by a blood-curdling shriek. They immediately broke into a run.

Enrique took the lead and saw two figures carrying a third. When he shouted to get their attention, they dropped their burden and circled back to face him.

A short, brutal fight ensued. It quickly became apparent that the figures were inhuman as they kept evading Fidelacchius while lashing out with vicious claws. Enrique sustained some minor cuts before being dropped with a broken arm. With Enrique down, the assailants turned their full attention on Benny and Nicholas.

Benny was able to identify them as Ghouls and proceeded to assault them with his power. Unfortunately one of the ghouls got too close and Benny was dropped with cracked ribs. Nicholas continued to fire at the ghouls but they shrugged off the wounds. Just as it appeared all was lost, divine providence provided salvation in the form of a passing cruiser. The ghouls fled the scene.

Officer Fintan, a fellow member of Nicholas’s church, was one of the two policemen in the vehicle. They secured the area and discovered that the person carried by the ghouls was already deceased. Enrique was taken to the hospital for further treatment and Benny returned home. Nicholas found a box on his doorstep when he arrived home. It had a card saying “Happy Hunting. -AG” and inside it contained a Smith & Wesson Model 500 .

After some sleep and recuperation the team gathered at Benny’s mansion. While discussing possible ramifications, Benny received a call from the Hammer. He pointed out that if there’s a large group of ghouls only the leadership would be dining on human flesh, the remainder would be confined to more normal sources. The Hammer recommended checking the supermarkets.

The investigators identified numerous markets in the area who were experiencing meat shortages. They staked one out to arrange a meeting with the ghouls. When the ghouls came to pick up their order, Benny approached them and requested a meeting. In the course of the conversation the name Dabumun came out as their leader. The ghouls agreed to setup a meeting for that evening at the Pig’s Eye.

Several ghouls appeared to case the Pig’s Eye before one approached Benny. After giving his name as Habgu the ghoul indicated that he was authorized to negotiate on behalf of the clan. When Benny asked for the cost of engaging the entire clan Habgu quoted a fee of $1 million per week. Habgu further elaborated that this included the services of all 65 clan members. When Benny asked about the possibility of their going to Chicago, Habgu expressed some fear and replied that under no conditions would the clan engage in activities around that city. The meeting closed when Benny indicated he needed to think further on the arrangement.

17 Days until Samhain

The following morning all three investigators sought information separately.

Enrique reached out to his former underworld contacts and discovered that the disappearances appeared to be confined exclusively to downtown St. Paul.

Nicholas placed several calls to various shelters, soup kitchens and businesses in the area, in the process finding that there had been upwards of 50 disappearances over the past month. Most of those clustered in an area near a building purported to be tied to the Jaguar Knights.

Benny turned to otherworldly means for information acquisition. He performed a psychometric ritual at the last known scene. He discovered that two shadowy figures dressed in off-the-rack suits attacked the victim with preternatural speed and strength. One of the aggressors biting the victim during the scuffle.

Benny, Enrique and Nicholas gathered together to compare notes. All signs pointed to a possible an uptick in Red Court activity. Benny immediately contacted Edinburgh for instructions, fearing the détente between the Red Court and the White Council was in jeopardy. Secretary Peabody of the White Council directed Benny to approach the situation cautiously and to, at all costs, avoid offending the Red Court. Benny then setup a meeting with Duke Amancio Gaspar at the Pig’s Eye.

18 Days until Samhain

While investigating reports of missing homeless during the early evening, Detective Nicholas McCoy, Benny Martin and Enrique Salazar were jumped by members of the Marauders in downtown St. Paul. The trio were able to quickly subdue their assailants and under questioning it was revealed that the Marauders believed there was a connection between corrupt law enforcement personnel and the disappearances. The Marauders became involved when their leader became concerned for his food supply.

Sergeant O’Reilly from SPPD responded to the scene, and only a hurried explanation by Detective McCoy prevented Enrique from being entangled in further questioning. Unfortunately Detective McCoy shot and wounded one of the perpetrators and, as a result, will be required to go before a review board. As the shooting was also outside of Nicholas’s jurisdiction this could lead to serious ramifications. Lieutenant Martinez, Nicholas’s superior, indicated his displeasure at the situation, and directed Nicholas to tread more carefully.